In the next article we are going to take a look at the Atom editor. This is a Sophisticated, cross-platform text / code editor for people who need an editor with cool features. Among them we could highlight some such as automatic completion, code navigation functions, document formatting, file system browser, or that works with Git and GitHub directly, in addition to many others.
This powerful editor was developed by GitHub and it works on all operating systems. It can be used on both OS X, Windows or Gnu / Linux. In this short post we are going to see some ways to install it in Ubuntu 18.10, although the installation ways are applicable to other versions of Ubuntu.
Whether you are new to programming or an experienced programmer, you will need a powerful code editor to do your job. This code editor combines the simplicity and speed so that any developer can feel comfortable using it.
General characteristics of the Atom editor
- Atom is a desktop application built with HTML, JavaScript, CSS and Node.js integration. Runs on Electron, a framework for building cross-platform applications using web technologies.
- Because it is a multiplatform application that works on Windows, Mac or Gnu / Linux PC, it should work and allow us to move between different platforms.
- Built-in package manager. Select from thousands of open source packages that add new features and functionality to Atom. You will also be able to create a package from scratch and publish it for everyone else to use.
- Atom brings four UI pre-installed and eight syntax themes in light and dark colors. If you can't find any that you like, you can always install themes created by the Atom community or create your own.
- Smart autocomplete. Atom is going to help us write code faster with intelligent and flexible autocompletion.
- File system browser. Easily find and open a single file, an entire project, or multiple projects in one window.
- Multiple panels. Divide your Atom interface into multiple panels to compare and edit code between files.
- Search and replace. Find and preview to replace text as you write in a file or in all your projects.
In order to have more complete information on Atom, you can check your web page or repository on GitHub.
Install Atom editor on Ubuntu
When you are ready to install Atom on Ubuntu, follow the steps for any of the following options:
Option 1 → Install from repository
To install Atom using your official repository you will have to add it to Ubuntu. You can also install the application from the Ubuntu default repositories, but it may happen that the version you find is not the most recent.
To install the latest version, first run the following script to install repository key. Open a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and write in it:
wget -q https://packagecloud.io/AtomEditor/atom/gpgkey -O- | sudo apt-key add -
To make sure that apt is configured to work with https sources, run in the same terminal:
sudo apt update sudo apt install apt-transport-https
Then add your repository typing:
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://packagecloud.io/AtomEditor/atom/any/ any main"
Finally, run the following command to install:
sudo apt install atom
When you're done, it should be installed and ready to go.
Option2 → Install via DEB package
An easier installation option will be to download the .deb package necessary from the project website.
After downloading, in the terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) you just have to launch the installation as we would with any other .deb package in Ubuntu.
sudo dpkg -i atom-amd64.deb
If after the previous command appear errors when processing, we can solve it by typing in the same terminal:
sudo apt install -f
Option 3 → Install via Snap
If none of the above options finished convincing you, you can also install the program via snap package management. This is perhaps the fastest way to install.
Snaps are applications packaged with all their dependencies to run on all popular Gnu / Linux distributions from a single build. To proceed with the installation, in a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) we will write the following commands:
sudo apt install snap
sudo snap install atom --classic
After the installation of your choice, you should have successfully installed the Atom editor on 18.10. Install the option you install, it is always a good idea take a look at the official documentation in order to start using this program with guaranteed results. The official documentation You can find it on the project website.